What would be your weapon of choice, other than your bare hands, if the zombie attack were to begin tomorrow?

Chris L.

Interesting that you should ask, as Captain Jim and I had a similar discussion over a SoCal Margarita the other night.

I think you have to break things down into two categories: Wish vs Practical. The Wish encompasses anything you might have seen on YouTube or heard about on a forum but might not be practical in terms of availability or sourcing of ammo. Lets face it, when the zombies attack you will need something that is both useful and common in ammunition. Where as the Practical includes weapons you have experience with, ones that could be carried with some ease and could actually purchase. I live in California where the Zombie Invasion is bound to start, and also the most liberal gun state in the country. And I do not mean liberal in a good way. A sub-category divides this list even further as I break distance down into Close & Personal and Far & Away.

Wish for Close & Personal

Auto Assault-12 (AA-12) is a fully automatic shotgun developed by Maxwell Atchisson. The weapon is selective fire, operating as a semi-auto or in fully automatic mode at 300 rounds per minute. It is fed from either an 8-shell box shell or a 20 or 32-shell drum magazine.

FN 5.7 - lightweight and accurate with low recoil, a large magazine capacity, and the ability to penetrate anything when using certain cartridge types. 20 shots on target with little to no recoil makes this a favorite.

Wish for Far & Away

FN Scar Heavy 7.6x51mm – Lightweight, selective fire semi-auto and full-auto 7.62 rifle with a short stroke gas piston and interchangeable barrel. This favorite of operators in harms way is reliable and useful.

H&K PSG 1 - The PSG1 means "precision marksman rifle" and is a semi-automatic platform by the German company H&K. The weapon is chambered in 7.62x51mm and is a tack driver.

CheyTac M200 Intervention – A bolt-action sniper rifle manufactured by Randy Kobzeff for long-range soft target interdiction. It is fed by a detachable single stack magazine, which holds 7 rounds. It shoots .408 or .375 ammunition. CheyTac states the entire system is capable of delivering sub-MOA accuracy at ranges of up to 2,500 yards (2,300 m), one of the longest ranges of all modern-day sniper rifles. This one was featured as #1 on the list for "Top 10 Sniper Rifles" for the Military Channel. With a price tag of $12,000 and limited availability this lands #1 on the wish list.

Practical for Close

FN 5.7 – We find our first weapon to make both lists…the FN is lightweight and accurate with low recoil, a large magazine capacity, the ability to penetrate anything when using certain cartridge types and 20 shots on target.

AI .338 Lapua – Two words…Accuracy International. A clean, bolt-action rifle chambered in .338 Lapua with collapsible stock that is accurate out to a mile.

Barrett M82 A1 in .416 – higher muzzle velocity than that Barrett .50 and more accurate. Offered in semi auto means 5 shots on target up to 2400 meters. The only hard part is dropping the coin on the optics to match the range. Night Force or US Optics are a must.

I have a bit experience with a few of the weapons on the list. After all there isn't much to do in Kansas City and living down the street from a shooting range makes it convenient. Most KC nights were spent shooting with Kyle Turley. And while all the weapons on the list are impressive, they are only as good as the person handling them.

Giving someone with little to no range time an AI .338 Lapua and asking them to make a 1600 yard shoot is like giving someone Jack Nicklaus’ golf clubs and asking them to win the Masters. I have been fortunate enough to receive great instruction on handguns, rifles and long guns and nothing beats practice.

Now all you need is a Kifaru pack to haul it all and you should be good to go.

*The list above is just a hypothetical list and TTMJ does not make any recommendations or condone the use of these weapons. After all do you think zombies will really attack...

John Welbourn is CEO of Power Athlete and creator of Johnnie WOD. He is a 9 year starter in the National Football League and NFL veteran. John was drafted with the 97th pick in 1999 NFL Draft and went on to be a starter for the Philadelphia Eagles from 1999-2003, appearing in 3 NFC Championship games, and for the Kansas City Chiefs from 2004-2007. In 2008, he played with the New England Patriots until an injury ended his season early and retiring in 2009. Over the course of his career, John has started over 100 games and has 10 play-off appearances. He was a four year lettermen while playing football at the University of California at Berkeley. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in Rhetoric in 1998. John has worked with the MLB, NFL, NHL and other professional and Olympic athletes. He travels the world lecturing on performance and nutrition for Power Athlete and the CrossFit Speciality Seminar: Sports Specific Application. You can catch up with John as his personal blog on training, food and life, Talk To Me Johnnie or at Power Athlete.

If I need to pick something that actually exists… a set of samurai swords would make me pretty happy. No ammo to worry about, easily portable, and a simple matter of ending it all if the zombies are truly overrunning everything!

Ahhhh…. This is why I enjoy this website. Welbourne, you are a true renaissance man. Well versed in many areas. The Benelli M4 makes me drool… I really like the .357 Sig I carry. The swords are a interesting choice. They were mentioned in World War Z. The American Tomahawk VTAC would be a part of my kit.

I love these choices. There are some beautiful weapons on your list. I would have to say for an ultimately practical, up-close-and-personal weapon, I would have to go with a Masahiro Katana Samurai sword. In a truly post-apocalyptic world, this weapon would be great for its lightweight, portability, no use of ammunition, no need for maintenance of mechanical parts, and rapid firing time. You would never get stuck in a corner with only the butt of a gun to defend yourself.

Damn screw the wolverine claws, Id rather heal fast. I can buy a knife. The only probably I have with guns is what if zombies have good hearing or hearing at all? Just wondering about swords like a katana. Dont they need maintenance and a fair amount skill to be used effectively? I then melee department I think a good ole axe of the medium kind would be good. You get a lot smashin or cleavin power. Its light, and you can chop wood!

I like your choices. But I think I am in a better situation with my dad being an army ranger and my brother being an s.a.s. paratrooper and my grandpa being an ex-marine raider in world war two and my uncle being an ex green berret and a cousin being a swat. If I were to choose I would pick my dads m4, my brothers g36, my grandpas wwII weapon stash and my cousins mossberg 590

Doesn’t need to be reloaded, no need to find ammo, doesn’t need to be sharpened, it’ll never break or fail to operate, and it doesn’t need to be aimed any more than your arm does. It’s small and unobtrusive enough that there’s always room for it in your gear, yet is heavy enough and shaped in such a way that it does massive damage. It requires no specialized training – no matter who picks one up, they know what to do with it. And it’s stealthy; good for strategic kills without alerting an entire pack of your presence.

Guns and swords are fun, but for most zombie encounters the crowbar is where it’s at.

Blades are more valuable as tools than weapons for survival. When your enemy isn’t bothered about being stabbed or cut, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to risk damaging or losing your knife or axe in a fight when you depend on it for so many other things.